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Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games (lit. "Mario & Sonic at the London Olympics") is a 2011 sports and party game developed by Sega Japan and Vicarious Visions. As with the previous two Mario & Sonic titles, it was published by Nintendo in Japan and by Sega in all other regions as well as Activision in Worldwide. The game is officially licensed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) through exclusive licensee International Sports Multimedia. It is the third installment in the Mario & Sonic series after the commercial success of its predecessors and is an official video game of the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. The game was released on the Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360 on November 13, 2011 in Europe, November 15, 2011 in North America, November 17, 2011 in Australia, and December 8, 2011 in Japan. It was also released for the PlayStation Portable, PlayStation Vita and Nintendo 3DS in February 2012. The game is the first, and the only one to come in a yellow keep case instead of a standard white case, similar to how New Super Mario Bros. Wii was the only game to have a red keep case. Mario & Sonic on the Handheld and Console is a collection of numerous events based on the Olympic Games. Players can assume the role of a Mario or Sonic character while competing against the others in these events. The game received mostly positive reviews from critics. Gameplay Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games is a collection of numerous events based on the Olympic Games. Mario & Sonic brings together the two title characters and eighteen more from both franchises to participate in environments based on the official venues of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. The characters are divided into four categories: all-around, speed, power, and skill A recent interview revealed that the same characters are playable as the previous game, with more focus being put on the events and gameplay. Several Olympic events on the Console, including football (soccer), badminton, and equestrian will debut alongside improved versions of previously existing events such as athletics, aquatics, and table tennis. The Console game introduced new "Dream Events", which are alternate versions of Olympic events taking place in locations from older games of the Mario and Sonic series. The console version also introduces new cooperative mechanics and a Party mode. The Handheld version has 57 Olympic-based events in single-player and multiplayer. It also contains an exclusive "Story Mode" which entails the characters from Mario and Sonic's worlds working against the antagonists, who are trying to use fog machines to prevent the games from being held. Development The first game in the series, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, is the first official crossover title to feature characters from both Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog's respective franchises. The Olympic Games were chosen as a setting since Sega, Activision and Nintendo felt its competitive sportsmanship was ideal for the once-rival mascots Sonic the Hedgehog and Mario. Sonic the Hedgehog is the protagonist of the video game series released by Sega in order to provide the company with a mascot to rival Nintendo's flagship character Mario in the early 1990s. Sean Ratcliffe, vice president of marketing at Sega of America commented on whether the Mario & Sonic series had a future past its second installment, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games. He said, "I think the key factor that decides the ongoing building of this franchise is basically success. Is the game successful? Are consumers happy with it?" A sequel was officially announced with a joint press release by Sega and Nintendo on April 21, 2011, after its predecessors sold over 19 million units combined. It is an official video game of the 2012 Summer Olympic Games and is licensed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) through exclusive licensee International Sports Multimedia. Early in its software developmental stages, a peripheral was considered to launch alongside the game. Both versions was developed by Sega Sports Japan and is published by Nintendo for Japan and by Sega for North America, and Europe with Activision for Worldwide. According to gaming magazine CVG, over 100 people developed the game. It was released on the Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360 on November 15, 2011 in North America, November 17, 2011 in Australia and New Zealand, November 18, 2011 in Europe and December 8, 2011 in Japan; and was released on the PlayStation Portable, PlayStation Vita and Nintendo 3DS handheld systems in February 2012 in North America and PAL Regions and March 2012 in Japan. A demo of the Handheld version was made available for download on the Nintendo eShop and PlayStation Network on January 26, 2012. Nintendo and Activision announced they will re-release the PlayStation Vita and Nintendo 3DS version of the game, as a downloadable title via Nintendo eShop and PlayStation Network. The downloadable version was available on November 1, 2012 in Japan, on May 30, 2013 in the PAL regions, and on June 20, 2013 in North America. It was later pulled from the PS Network and eShop in all regions. Music Both versions of the game feature various musical tracks from the Mario and Sonic series arranged by Satnam Singh Ramgotra, Gary Dworetsky and Andrew Christie. The game also features original music written and adapted for the game by Hans Zimmer and Lorne Balfe, with both versions mostly sharing the same soundtrack. Later the orchestral score was conducted by Nick Glennie-Smith when the score recorded at Warner Bros. Eastwood Scoring Stage and Barbra Streisand Scoring Stage at Sony Pictures Studios by Dennis S. Sands and Alan Meyerson while the score was mixed at Remote Control Productions (Hans Zimmer's music company) by Alan Meyerson. Reception The game received mostly positive reception. IGN gave the Console version a 7.5, stating "The only great parts of Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games are the parts that have nothing to do with the Olympics. The new reality-ignoring Dream Events, the multiplayer London Party mode and the presentation of London itself are all wonderful here -- pick up a copy of the game if one of those items catches your eye. But the actual sports? They're the same here as they were four years ago, and anyone who's already got a copy of the first Mario & Sonic Olympic game sitting on the shelf doesn't need to double-dip." They gave the Handheld version, which did not contain the "London Party" mode, a lower 6.5 score. Nintendo Power gave the 3DS version a 7. Sales The Console version sold 2.4 million copies in North America and Europe in its first two months of release. External links *Official website Category:2011 video games Category:2012 video games Category:2012 Summer Olympics Category:Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Category:Mario Universe games Category:Mario sports games Category:Nintendo 3DS games Category:Nintendo 3DS eShop games Category:Nintendo Network games Category:Crossover video games Category:Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection games Category:Olympic video games Category:Sega video games Category:Nintendo games Category:Sonic the Hedgehog video games Category:Video games developed in Japan Category:Video games set in 2012 Category:Video games set in London Category:Video games set in the United Kingdom Category:Wii games Category:Wii Wi-Fi games Category:Video game sequels Category:Windows games Category:PlayStation 3 games Category:PlayStation Portable games Category:PlayStation Vita games Category:Xbox 360 games Category:Vicarious Visions games Category:Activision games Category:Films produced by Emma Thomas Category:Films directed by Christopher Nolan Category:Films produced by Deborah Snyder Category:Ultra Series video games Category:Film scores by Hans Zimmer Category:Film scores by Lorne Balfe Category:Film scores by Max Aruj Category:Film scores by David Fleming Category:Film scores by Andrew Kawczynski Category:Film scores by Jasha Klebe Category:Film scores by Steve Mazzaro